The restructuring of MassHealth is among the most significant health care initiatives to come from the administration of Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who has been focused on containing the costs of the massive program. In other Medicaid news: work requirements, premiums, and opioids.

Boston Globe:
Health Care Providers Brace For Confusion As New Mass. Medicaid Rules Are Rolled Out
More than 800,000 Massachusetts Medicaid recipients enter a new era Thursday with the rollout of sweeping changes that are designed to improve care and save money — but that could cause initial confusion and disruption. State officials are trying to more tightly control where patients on the Medicaid program, called MassHealth, receive their care. They have assigned patients to one of several different accountable care organizations — or networks of doctors and hospitals that will work to manage patients’ care. (Dayal McCluskey, 2/28)

Chicago Tribune:
Lawmakers Approve Revamp Of Hospital Medicaid Funding Program
A long-awaited redesign of a program for distributing Medicaid money to hospitals across Illinois was approved Wednesday by state lawmakers. Gov. Bruce Rauner is expected to sign the legislation, which revamps the $3.5 billion hospital assessment program that provides more than half of hospitals’ Medicaid funding. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must approve the program before the current policy sunsets June 30, though if that doesn’t happen in time there is a bridge provision in the legislation to extend the current policy until the new one gets federal approval. (Elejalde-Ruiz, 2/28)

Modern Healthcare:
Public Skeptical About Medicaid Work Requirement Rationale
The public isn't sold on the Trump administration's argument that letting states impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries is intended to lift people out of poverty, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey. Forty-one percent of people polled said the goal of the work requirements approved in Kentucky and Indiana and proposed by eight other GOP-led states is to reduce government spending, while 33% said it's to help people leave poverty, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found. Republicans were almost equally split, with 42% saying it's to cut spending and 40% saying it's to reduce poverty. (Meyer, 3/1)

Kaiser Health News:
Tens Of Thousands Of Medicaid Recipients Skip Paying New Premiums
When Arkansas lawmakers debated in 2016 whether to renew the state’s Medicaid expansion, many Republican lawmakers were swayed only if some of the 300,000 adults who gained coverage would have to start paying premiums. This “skin-in-the-game” provision — endorsed by conservatives in Washington and in many statehouses — is designed to make Medicaid recipients value their government health insurance more and lead healthier lives. It’s “to encourage more personal responsibility,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters in 2016. “We want to incentivize better, healthy living.” (Galewitz, 3/1)

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com:
Gov. Wolf To Announce Medicaid Change Aimed At Opioid Treatment
In an effort to help people get faster treatment for opioid addiction, the state will remove a pre-authorization requirement for Medicaid recipients prescribed some types of medication helpful for recovery, Gov. Wolf is expected to announce Thursday. Pre-authorization can take up to 24 hours, and the administration hopes the change — which advocates have been calling for — will prevent situations where people struggling with addiction must decide whether to pay out of pocket for the medication, use drugs or risk going into painful withdrawal. (Madej, 2/28)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.